Brotherhood
by BehindTheWallOfSleep
Summary: A short story to set the scene, or provide some past events, of a much larger story that I intend to write in the future. This story is based off of ideas created by Kitty (Chameleon2). In this case, the focus is on Lysander and Alcander (sons of Adrian and Maria) as children.


**Author's Note**: I wanted to write a couple of short stories to set the scene, or provide some past events, of a much larger story that I intend to write in the future. This story is based off of ideas created by Kitty (Chameleon2). In this case, the focus is on Lysander and Alcander (sons of Adrian and Maria) as children.

**Brotherhood**

When November arrives in Romania, ice and snow often come with it. But it can also provide some time away from school—in this case, for the Feast of St. Andrew. In 1811, in the Village of Brookline, a grandmother was making certain that her two grandchildren were properly dressed for the winter elements.

"I know how to dress myself, Grandma," said a perturbed Lysander. "I'm almost nine."

Dymphna smiled, while she checked his coat. "Yes, and I want to make certain that you are here to celebrate your ninth birthday. Wouldn't want you to catch your death from the cold."

She maintained her smile, while she checked her other grandson, and adjusted his stocking cap. "You too, young man. You just turned six-years-old. I don't want to see that strawberry-blonde hair of yours turn to ice."

Alcander presented his older brother with a smirk. "See, Sander, I told you that it was strawberry-blonde."

By contrast, Lysander grinned. "No, it's not. It's red."

"Is not! Grandma said that it's strawberry-blonde."

Dymphna chuckled. "Either way, it's cute, and I don't want to see it turn to ice. The same is true with your hair, Sander." But in her thoughts, she added, _"Still, I wonder where Cander gets it from—the red in his hair? Must be from Adrian's side of the family."_

In any case, she gave each grandson a kiss on the cheek and said, "Look out for one another and be safe."

* * *

A gust of wind pushed snow from the tree branches, which, besides being covered with snow, also had a large amount of ice. Snow visited Brookline the other day, as the Tepes brothers marched through it—Alcander a few steps behind his elder brother. The Renard farm consisted of quite a number of acres for the brothers to roam. However, they were warned—along with their Belmont cousins—to stay away from the livestock in the pasture.

"Sander?"

"What is it?"

"Aren't Riff and Sidra supposed to be coming here?"—a reference to their Belmont cousins.

"Tomorrow. Dad's bringing them."

"Not Uncle Richter? Not Aunt Annette?"

Lysander paused, and turned to his brother with a look. "Do you really think that Aunt Annette would be coming? She just had a baby."

"But that was last week."

"Some women to take time to recover," Lysander said, as he and his brother continued on. "That's what Dad told me."

Alcander nodded, even though he did not quite understand what his brother was referencing. "What's the baby's name?"

"I, uh, I don't know. I just know that it's a boy."

Again, Alcander nodded.

But Lysander smirked. "In any case, I'll be glad when they—or at least Riff, er Christian—gets here tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Because I'll get to play with him and not you."

"Fine!" glared Alcander. "And I'll get to play with Sidra and not you!"

Lysander chuckled. "Always playing with the girls, aren't you, Cander?"

"I do not!"

"You play with Sidra. You play with Jessica-"

"I play with Joshua too!"

"Yeah, and he's always playing with the girls. What do you two do? Do they braid your hair? Make you wear dresses? Make you go to tea parties? Are you sure that you two aren't really girls?"

Alcander's began to turn red. "I'm not a girl, and neither is he!"

Again, Lysander chuckled. "Your face matches your hair, a bright shade of red."

"MY HAIR IS NOT-"

But a gust of wind blew past them, and twitched Alcander's nose. His anger calmed.

Lysander too became serious. He seemed to follow the wind. "A ghost just flew past you."

"A ghost?"

"Yeah," replied Lysander. Slowly he turned to an old house on the property. "Don't you know?"

"Know about what?"

"That house."

"That's where Grandpa keeps his feed. What about it?"

"Come on."

Lysander motioned Alcander to follow him. Alcander did not quite understanding the meaning of it all, but he obliged.

"True, Grandpa keeps his feed there, but you can tell that it was once a house. Look at it." While the building was untaken care of for at least thirty years, it certainly was at one time a home. The chimney and second story window confirmed that fact.

As Lysander and Alcander approached the old home, the elder brother opened a door to the old home—the room where Grandpa Renard kept the feed for his cattle. "Care to enter?"

"I've been in there before with Grandpa."

"Then you should have no problems entering it with me."

"Fine, but you go first."

"Very well."

Lysander entered the old home, and his younger brother followed. Their presence scared some mice, who were gnawing at the feed.

"Didn't Grandpa ever tell you about the history of this house?" asked Lysander.

"No."

"It was the home of the people, who once owned most of this land. The Pikes. They were of English descent. Grandpa worked for them."

"And he eventually got the land from them."

"Correct, but look at this room." Lysander gestured. "Can't you see the remains of wallpaper?"

While most of the walls were barren, there were some torn remains of wallpaper. The wallpaper, which did remain, was pink, and it contained the image of a rose—a rose of green, red, white, and yellow.

"I see it."

"This was once a bedroom to the mistress and master of the house. The old lady died in this room. The ghost that flew by you moments ago, that was her."

Alcander gasped.

Lysander smiled. "She might be on her way back here. Perhaps to see you."

Alcander charged out the door. But, as he did so, a church bell pealed.

The bell perturbed Lysander. "Don't worry!" he shouted at his little brother. "You're safe!"

Alcander, who had run quite a distance from the house, stopped to give his brother a look.

Lysander stepped outside of the home and said, "A church bell rang. Ghosts hate the sound of church bells. It reminds them that they're dead."

* * *

With the former Pike residence in the background, the two brothers continued to march through the snow. As they came closer to the Renard Valley, Alcander turned to his brother with a look. "Why did you do that?"

Alcander's green eyes reminded Lysander of their mother. Yet, he could only smirk. "Do what?"

"Making up that story about the old lady's ghost, and how that room is haunted. Did you think that was funny?"

Lysander chuckled. "Well, trying to scare you was kind of funny, but I didn't make up the whole story. The old lady really did die in that room."

Now, Alcander was intrigued. "How do you know?"

"Grandpa told me."

"…The ghost then?"

"I did make that one up. But who knows, maybe she really does haunt that house."

"…The church bell?"

"Damn that church bell," Lysander said with a sneer. "That was totally unexpected."

Alcander took a moment to turn back to the former residence. "Sander?"

"Yeah?"

"Are ghosts really scared of church bells?"

"That's what Uncle Richter told Riff. He's a priest, so he ought to know.

"Wow! Look at that!"

"Look at what?"

"The valley—there's hardly any snow. Come on!"

Lysander gestured for his brother to follow him, but the trip into the valley was a tedious one, for it was a deep valley. But Lysander was correct, there was hardly any snow in the valley—due to the shelter of the Fir and English Oak Trees. However, while there may have been little snow, there was certainly plenty of ice. On one of the rock formations in the earth, the icicles looked like stalactites in a cavern.

"Wow!" Alcander said, as he grabbed one of the large icicles. He tried to bite into it, as he had smaller icicles, but this one was impossible.

"Too big, huh?"

Alcander nodded, and his stomach began to grumble. "I'm hungry, though."

"Yeah, me too. Let's go back to Grandma and Grandpa's."

Alcander set the large icicle next to its origin, and started to climb out of the valley.

"Wait," said Lysander. "I've noticed something."

"What?"

Lysander stepped outside the shelter of the trees, and back into the 'winter wonderland' that was the Renard farm. Among the ice and snow, Lysander was able to see a road. A road, which led back to their grandparents' home.

"We'll go this way," Lysander said with a gesture. "It'll be faster."

* * *

While Lysander's route was faster, than trying to climb out of the valley, it did contain one obstacle—a pond. But the pond was a medium sized one, and one that could be maneuvered around. Alcander began this route.

"Where are you going?" asked Lysander.

"Around the pond to get to the road."

"Why?"

"Because it's a pond."

"Yeah, and it's frozen."

Alcander looked confused.

"I'm crossing over it."

"Crossing over it?!"

Lysander chuckled. "Yeah. It's a pond, not a lake, Cander."

Yet, his little brother was disturbed. "But what if you fall in? Mom's told stories about people falling through the ice—"

"Those stories involved people skating, and falling through a lake. This is a pond, not a lake, Cander."

"But—"

"Watch."

And Alcander watched, while his brother harmlessly crossed the body of frozen water. Once on the other side, Lysander turned to his brother and said, "You see?"

Alcander nodded.

"Well, come on."

But Alcander did not move.

Lysander sighed. "Damn it, Cander, come on. If we went your way, it would take an extra 20 minutes to get back to Grandma's."

Alcander gently put one foot on the ice.

"See how solid it is, Cander. Now place the other one."

But Alcander could not. His mother's stories scared him. "I can't do it."

Again, Lysander sighed. "Fine, be a baby then."

"I'm not a baby!"

Lysander smirked. "You know, Cander, I remember something that you probably don't. Dad asked me to help him clean out the stable, and you wanted to come too, but Dad said that you couldn't come. Do you know the reason why?"

Alcander shook his head.

"The reason why is because he pointed to your diaper, and said that you weren't a big boy yet, because big boys don't wear diapers."

Ironically, Alcander did have some memories of the incident in question.

But Lysander continued the antagonism. "So, are you still wearing diapers?"

"NO!" Alcander said with a glare, which reminded Lysander of their mother, when she was furious.

Lysander chuckled. "Well then, be a big boy and come on."

Despite his anger, Alcander put on a brave face. Still, he was nervous, as he placed one foot on the ice and then another.

"That's right, little brother, just come on."

Alcander was three-fourths of the way across the pond, when the ice started to crack.

"Damn it, Cander! Hurry!"

But it was too late. Alcander fell through—his stocking cap coming off his head, as he did so.

Lysander gasped, and rushed closer to the scene; but Alcander quickly popped out of the water. It only came up to his chest.

"DAMN IT!" began Alcander, while he grabbed his stocking cap. "I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN!"

Lysander, slightly relieved, responded, "Quit complaining; it's not like you're drowning. Now, be a big boy, and pull yourself together."

Yet, Lysander watched Alcander struggle. "Damn it, Cander, come on!"

"Sander, I can't. I'm stuck."

Lysander gave his brother a look.

"Stuck! Stuck! STUCK!"

Alcander began to wail like a banshee, and now Lysander was indeed terrified. If their grandmother was to hear Alcander, Lysander knew that, somehow, he would be the one in trouble.

Nearby the pond, however, was a large stick; and thankfully, it was not covered in ice. "Hold on!" said Lysander.

Lysander secured the stick, and extended it to his little brother. Through his tears, Alcander took hold, and Lysander pulled him out of the pond.

On the embankment, Lysander wrapped an arm around his little brother. Alcander was safe, but he was shoeless. That would explain why Alcander was stuck—he was stuck in the mud.

"My boots!" cried Alcander. "We've got to get them!"

"How? With a magnet? I was just barely able to get you out of the pond."

"Damn it, this is all your fault! If we would've just gone my way, none of this would have happened."

Lysander said nothing. Alcander had a point.

Again, Alcander started to cry. "What am I supposed to tell Grandma? What about Mom?"

Lysander placed his hands on his brother's shoulders. "We don't have to worry about Mom; she's not here. As for Grandma…I'll think of something."

* * *

Dymphna gasped, when her two grandsons entered the home—particularly the younger one. Alcander had to be helped by his elder brother. Besides his clothes being wet—and having no shoes—Alcander had ice forming in his hair, and a chattering of teeth. Dymphna immediately ordered that he be undressed and placed next to the fire, with towels around his head and body.

As Alcander began to warm-up, Dymphna inquired what happened. Lysander responded with a story that he had told Alcander on their way back to their grandparents. Essentially, Alcander got stuck in the mud on the pond's embankment, and accidentally fell backwards into the pond. His boots were stuck on the embankment, and the two of them were unable to pull them out. Alcander, who was numb with the cold, did not protest.

Once Dymphna heard the story, she checked the back of Alcander's head. "Sander, there are no marks on the back of his head."

"Yeah?" said a confused Lysander.

"Well, if he fell back into the pond, as you mentioned, there should be marks on the back of his head from hitting the ice. In fact, the back of his head should be bleeding."

"Oh."

"'Oh?'" Dymphna stated with a look. "Furthermore," she continued, becoming angry, "the ground is frozen. How could he get stuck in the mud?"

Lysander paused, trying to think of a logical response. One did not come to him.

A still agitated Dymphna turned to Alcander. Sitting next to her younger grandson, she smiled sweetly. "Cander, tell me what happened."

At first, Alcander began with the story Lysander told him, only to be stopped by his grandmother.

"No, Cander, I don't believe that story. Tell me what happened."

Feeling as though he had no choice, Alcander told the truth. He fell through the pond, due to his brother antagonizing him to cross it.

Dymphna shook her head. "Thankfully, the worst of what could have happened did not happen. Still," she began, while she turned to her younger grandson, "I worry about him getting sick."

Afterwards, she turned to her other grandson. "Lysander, I am not happy about what you did. When Riff and Sidra come here tomorrow, you're going to be staying inside."

"But—"

"You're going to help me clean the house and prepare the evening meal."

"Grandma!"

Dymphna smirked. "Well, if you don't like that, you can go home with your father tomorrow. But, in any case, you are not going to be playing outside with Riff."

* * *

The following day, Christian and Sidra Belmont arrived at the Renard home with their uncle. Adrian was certainly upset, when he learned what had happened the previous day with his sons. However, he provided Dymphna with some money to purchase Alcander a new pair of boots. As for Lysander, he thought that him working as a 'maid' was punishment enough, as it was a serious blow to his pride.

**The End**


End file.
